


It means I like you

by jeupscheekbones



Category: IMFACT (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, M/M, and taeho his (not-so) secret bf, jeup is unnecessarily angry, jian is just there, sang is an angel, ungjae is an annoying cousin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 04:26:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15744276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeupscheekbones/pseuds/jeupscheekbones
Summary: He leans closer, and Jeup's brain malfunctions. "I'm straight," he blurts out.Sang looks at him, eyebrows raised and his hand extended somewhere over Jeup's shoulder. "Okay," he says slowly, "What's that got to do with anything?"Jeup silently wishes for the floor to turn into an actual portal to Hell and swallow him whole.-Five times Jeup swears he's straight, and one time he admits that for Sang, he's anything but.





	It means I like you

**Author's Note:**

> me, after 63639272 years of waiting for someone to write a fic about this ship: fuck it i'll do it myself then

1.

 

When Ungjae had asked if it's okay for him to bring his friends over to their shared apartment, Jeup had agreed, with the condition of them letting him study in peace. And right now, honestly, they're not really doing a good job on that. He had been fine earlier with them occassionally yelling at each other while playing video games, because he could just plug his earphones in and tune it out, but now they are blasting music from Ungjae's shitty, loud stereo system, and Jeup's patience is coming to an end.

 

He should have never agreed to his parents' idea of sharing the apartment with his younger cousin.

 

Ripping his earphones away from his ears, Jeup storms over to the door of his bedroom and basically kicks it open, causing four heads to turn into his direction. 

 

"What's up, hyung?" Ungjae asks, looking completely unbothered while the three boys sitting on the floor in a circle with him are staring at Jeup with wary eyes. 

 

"I told you to keep it down, since I'm trying to-" Jeup stops, his eyes glued on the can of beer in his cousin's hand, "Is that my beer?"

 

"Oh yeah, uh," Ungjae grins at him apologetically, raising the can with his hand. "It is. I'll buy you a new pack, though. Promise."

 

"A new pack," Jeup repeats, squinting his eyes as he looks at Ungjae's friends, only to notice now that they are all holding the same drinks in their hands. He actually has to close his eyes and inhale deeply not to explode right then and there. "Why didn't you buy your own?"

 

"Well, we didn't really think we'd be drinking, but then I saw the pack in the fridge and," Ungjae shrugs his shoulders. "I figured that since you are studying, you won't need them tonight."

 

"That's exactly when I need a drink the most, you little shit," Jeup says, and Ungjae actually dares to snort at him. He can't believe this kid.

 

"Uhm," the guy sitting to the left of Ungjae suddenly mutters. Jeup raises an eyebrow and looks at him, and for whatever god-forsaken reason his face actually falters when their eyes meet. 

 

The guy is probably around Ungjae's age, his black fringe a tiny bit too long so there are some stray hairs hanging in front of his eyes. He looks tall - or taller than Jeup, at least - even though he's sitting down, his shoulders hunched as he hugs a pillow to his chest. And maybe, if Jeup was attracted to men, he would be crushing to this guy really hard, but he's not, so. No big deal here.

 

"How about pizza for some peace-offering?" The guy asks. Jeup blinks.

 

"What?"

 

"Oh yeah!" Ungjae exclaims, slapping his hands together so hard the sound overdoes the bass of his speakers. "We were just about to order pizza. If we get one for you and pay for it, will you be okay?"

 

Jeup ponders for a moment. "Fine. But you'll also buy me beer later."

 

"Hyung!"

 

"One pizza isn't enough to win my heart," Jeup says, and somehow manages to make another awkward eye-contact with the cute guy who brought up the pizza in the first place at the exact same moment. Almost choking on his own spit, he swirls around and makes a movement with his fingers that's supposed to be a wave, and says, "Come call me when the pizza is here," before fleeing back to his room.

 

The music is still playing so it might do tricks to his hearing, but as Jeup leans his back against the door of his room, he thinks he hears the cute guy say _"He's pretty cute,"_ and then Ungjae reply with " _Yeah, but also as straight as a ruler. Don't waste your time, Sang."_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.

 

"I'm sorry," Jeup breathes out, watching how the guy jumps and swirls around to face him, "What are you doing in my kitchen?"

 

The guy - Sang, if Jeup heard right last night (he's not really sure if he wants that he heard everything right) - laughs awkwardly and scratches at the back of his neck. His t-shirt - which is probably actually Ungjae's, now that Jeup takes a better look - rides up a little, revealing a glimpse of skin, and Jeup actually grasps at the doorframe to keep his balance.

 

_What the fuck?_

 

"I actually stayed the night," he says carefully, looking overly curious as he watches Jeup, "And was thinking of making some coffee, if that's okay. Right, and Ungjae is showering."

 

Jeup grunts something incoherent in response and makes a beeline across the kitchen, right past the guy. "I'll make the coffee," he says.

 

"Oh."

 

"I'll make some for you too, don't worry."

 

"Oh. I mean, thanks. I guess."

 

"No problem," Jeup mutters, and for some reason he feels really awkward and embarrassed, with the heat rising to his cheeks. It's stupid, because what is there to be embarrassed for? It's not the first time he has to keep company for some of Ungjae's friends. This guy is not any different. He's totally not.

 

"So, your name is Jeup, right?" The guy asks, and as Jeup turns around to face him, he nearly drops his coffee pot, because when in the hell did he get so close? "My name is Sang. I'm guessing Ungjae hasn't told you."

 

"Uh," Jeup responds intelligently. So his name _is_ Sang. He wonders if he also heard it right when the guy called him cute. Not that he really cares, but Jeup totally thinks, in a totally heterosexual way, that the guy himself is cute. Especially so up-close - if Sang took just a tiny step closer, he would basically have Jeup sandwitched in between himself and the kitchen counter. 

 

Jeup isn't really into this stuff, skinship with other guys. Especially with guys who he has only met the night before. And he swears that's the only reason the blush on his cheeks is getting brighter.

 

"Uh?" Sang repeats. There's an irritating twinkle of amusement in his eyes. Jeup kind of wants to punch him.

 

"I mean, yeah, that's my name, and no, Ungjae hasn't told me anything about you," Jeup says with a sigh, almost stuttering on the last word. _Now, get the hell away from me._

 

Sang doesn't get away from him. Instead, he leans closer, and Jeup's brain malfunctions. "I'm straight," he blurts out.

 

Sang looks at him, eyebrows raised and his hand extended somewhere over Jeup's shoulder. "Okay," he says slowly, "What's that got to do with anything?"

 

Jeup silently wishes for the floor to turn into an actual portal to Hell and swallow him whole. 

 

"Nothing," he says. " _Nothing_."

 

" _Alright_ ," Sang replies, mimicking Jeup's tone, and Jeup would actually punch him if he wasn't already too busy dying of embarrassment. He watches how Sang pulls his hand back, now occupied with a coffee mug, and realizes he's been standing in front of the cupboard this whole time.

 

Running away to hide alone in the mountains has never sounded so appealing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.

 

 

"So, what's up?" Ungjae asks, slumping down onto the couch next to Jeup and grabbing the remote from him with his perfectly manicured hands.

 

"What do you mean?" Jeup asks, ready to fight to get the remote back, but then deciding against it since he wasn't really watching anything, anyway. 

 

"You've been super weird for, like a week now," Ungjae says, switching between the channels faster than Jeup can blink. "Are you still grieving over the beer? I already gave you the money to buy more, hyung."

 

Jeup snorts and leans his head back against the backrest of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "How have I been acting weird?"

 

"Well, I don't know," Ungjae says, poking at Jeup's arm, "You're just so lost in your thoughts, you're probably going to walk into a wall one day and won't even notice."

 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

 

Jeup knows Ungjae is rolling his eyes even though he's not even looking at him. "It means you are daydreaming, hyung. And that's scary, considering that usually, you barely even think."

 

Jeup hisses and straightens his back, aggressively elbowing his cousin, "Listen here, you little brat-"

 

"I'm serious!" Ungjae cries out, climbing away from him with his long limbs. "Like, seriously speaking. Haven't you noticed?"

 

Jeup raises an eyebrow and stops. Has he been acting weird? Daydreaming? He might have had some kind of a weird feeling knocking at the back of his mind for a while now, to be honest. But daydreaming? 

 

"No," he says. "I don't really know what you mean."

 

Ungjae huffs. "Really? You don't have, I don't know, a crush on anyone or anything?"

 

Jeup's stomach flips and his breath hitches. A crush. What a damned word. "A crush? Are you crazy? Who would I be crushing on?"

 

"How would I know?" Ungjae asks, looking way too amused for Jeup's liking. "No need to get so worked up. I was just thinking."

 

"Well, you need to stop thinking," Jeup says, leaning in to grab the remote back into his hands and bring his focus on the tv screen across the room. God, why is his heart pounding so much for nothing? This is totally not his day. Or his week, for that matter. Now that he thinks of it, he has really been acting a little weird lately. Or his mind has, at least. It's been going on ever since that day Ungjae invited his friends over. 

 

Ungjae's friends.

 

Sang.

 

Jeup barely holds in a groan as he shoves the remote next to him on the cushions and rubs at his forehead with both his hands. He's completely aware of Ungjae staring at him, and he doesn't really blame him, but dear Jesus, he doesn't have any time for this nonsense. Why is he thinking of Sang? He has absolutely zero reasons to think about him. 

 

"Are you sure you don't have a crush on anyone?" Ungjae asks. Jeup has to resist the urge to throttle him over.

 

"Yes, I'm absolutely fucking positive," he says, and then gets up from the couch. He's just tired, and he needs a drink. And a girlfriend.

 

Definitely not a boyfriend, and definitely not Sang.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. 

 

 

Jeup swears he's going to kick the person who thought that putting shelves higher than people's average height in grocery stores would be a good idea, and also punch the next person who tries to hide a smile while walking past him as he tries to get the last pack of instant ramen from the top shelf. He's already aware that he looks ridiculous, thank you very much - if they are so tall themselves, shouldn't they put that height into good use and help him?

 

"You need any help with that?"

 

Oh, finally. 

 

"Yes," Jeup huffs, swirling around to look at his savior. He only realizes that the voice was somehow familiar when it's already too late and he's, once again, making the most awkward eye-contact with none other than Lee Sang.

 

(He might have accidentally clicked on the guy's instagram profile and found out his surname that way. Accidentally. And he also might've just accidentally gone through all of his photos and almost liked one from three months ago.)

 

Sang flashes him a smile, somehow managing to look like an actual runway model even though he's wearing a worn-out hoodie with plain gray sweatpants, along with sneakers that look like they were bought back in 2010. It pisses Jeup off. Who is he to walk around a fucking grocery store at nine in the evening while looking like some kind of a god?

 

"I always need to get stuff for Taeho-hyung from high places as well," Sang says, making his way to Jeup and tip-toeing a little to grab the ramen from the shelf. "Though, I rarely see him nowadays. I think he's too busy with Ungjae."

 

Jeup blinks, dumbly staring at the package of ramen Sang is offering at him for a few seconds before actually taking it. "Wait, what? Who? With Ungjae?"

 

"Taeho-hyung," Sang repeats, "he was at your place too, that one day. The other guy was Jian-hyung. But anyway, they got something going on. Taeho and Ungjae, I mean."

 

"Oh," Jeup says. He tries thinking back to that evening, but soon realizes that he doesn't really remember any of the guys' faces except for Sang. It's natural though. He didn't even speak with the rest of them.

 

It's only about a minute later he realizes the thing Sang said last. 

 

"What? What something? Are they dating?" He exclaims, almost wheezing, and Sang laughs.

 

"I don't think so. Not yet, at least. How didn't you know? You live with Ungjae, and isn't he like your cousin or something?"

 

Jeup huffs. "Yeah, he is. I can't believe he hasn't told me."

 

"They just think they're being all sneaky about it," Sang says. He then glances at the ramen on Jeup's hands, and then at the clock on the wall over his shoulder. "I guess I'll go now though, after saving you from distress."

 

"Wait," Jeup says. Sang looks at him, confused, and Jeup thinks, _same_ , because he really doesn't even know why he said that. He shifts his weight awkwardly from his feet to another and then lifts the ramen with his hand, shrugging his shoulders. "Wanna share? I was thinking of eating this here, anyway."

 

Sang stares at him, his hands shoved deep inside his pockets, and Jeup curses himself to the deepest pit of Hell as he waits for the answer. What is he doing?

 

"Are you sure sharing your food with a dude isn't going to turn you gay or something?" Sang asks then, and Jeup can feel his cheeks burning up.

 

"I might be straight but I'm not an idiot, shut up," he mutters, "and just tell me. I'm not going to be standing here for the entire night."

 

Sang grins at him, tilting his head with his hair dancing in front of his eyes. "Fine. I'll take the offer."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.

 

 

"Why are you here?" Jeup grunts, leaning against the doorframe of the apartment door as he stares at the male standing in the hall. 

 

"Just looking for Ungjae," Sang replies. "Is he home?"

 

"No, he's not," Jeup says slowly, squinting as he stares at the younger man. (He had kind of asked Ungjae how old Sang is, just to be sure his assumption of his age was right, simply because he likes being right. And he was, kind of - Sang is a year older than Ungjae, which means he's two years younger than Jeup.) "He's staying the weekend with his parents. You didn't know?"

 

"Oh, wow, I didn't," Sang says, but he doesn't sound surprised at all. And Jeup knows why.

 

"I'm pretty sure he told me you are taking him to the train station with your car, though."

 

Sang stops on his tracks at that, looking off-guard. Jeup kind of enjoys watching how he tries to get himself together, a slight blush rising to his cheeks. 

 

He looks cute, blushing. In a totally heterosexual way, again.

 

"Oh yeah, t-that's," Sang stutters out, bringing his hand up to scratch at the back of his neck - something Jeup remembers him doing that one morning as well, probably a habit - "Yeah, fine. I might have been looking for you instead."

 

"For _me_?" Jeup repeats, unbelief evident in his voice. "Why?"

 

Sang looks away from him, shooting his gaze downways, and then shrugs. He looks like a kicked puppy, and god, Jeup has a soft spot for baby animals (who doesn't though, come on).

 

"Alright," he says awkwardly, and then opens the door a little and steps to the side to make some room for Sang to pass. "Get inside, then."

 

Sang lifts his head and looks at him with surprise. "Really?"

 

"Yes, really," Jeup says while rolling his eyes, but there's a smile tugging at his lips. "Hurry up, before I change my mind."

 

Sang grins at him and then skips inside, his fingers brushing the back of Jeup's hand as he passes him. The latter freezes on the spot and his mind goes haywire, sirens blasting inside of his head, and he basically slams the door shut before turning around to face Sang. 

 

He's overreacting. God, he's been single so long he's actually blushing when _a guy_ touches his hand.

 

If Sang notices the battle going on inside his head, he doesn't comment on it. Instead, he plops down onto the living room's couch as if he lived there, and looks up at Jeup from there. 

 

It's then that Jeup notices how wide his shirt's neckline actually is - it exposes his collarbones, and way too much _soft-looking_ skin for his liking, and - and he really needs to come up with something to talk about before he goes completely mad.

 

"Anyway," he starts, grimacing internally as Sang keeps staring at him, "Are you, like, gay, or what?"

 

_Great job, Park Jeup. You are a true genius._

 

Sang laughs. "What?"

 

"I was just wondering," Jeup says quickly, "Didn't mean to offend you, or anything. Sorry. You know what, forget that I asked-"

 

"No, it's okay," Sang interrupts, and he falls silent, standing there in the middle of his own living room while feeling like he's a total stranger in there. "It was just funny, the way you asked it. But yeah, I'm gay, I guess."

 

"You guess," Jeup repeats, and finally decides to move from his spot in the middle of the room to sit on the couch next to Sang. He leaves a good distance in between, though. He's not about to have his entire body react in weird ways when their thighs accidentally touch, or something. 

 

Not that he really thinks about stuff that. Straight guys don't think about stuff like that when they are with other guys. Not even if the other guy is gay.

 

"Yeah," Sang says, twisting his upper body so he's properly facing Jeup, "I just don't think about it that much. My sexuality, I mean. One day I just realized that I'm pretty much attracted to guys instead of girls, and that was it, I guess. It's not really a big deal to me."

 

Huh, Jeup thinks. He's about to say he feels like that about his sexuality, too, but then his mind screams _liar_ at him. "I see," he says instead.

 

Sang smiles - does he never really not smile? - and then shrugs his shoulders, leaning back on the couch. "So, you got any food in here? I say we play some video games and eat so much we pass out."

 

Jeup has never really liked video games, but right now, that sounds like the best idea ever. "I'm in," he says.

 

 

 

 

 

 

\+ 1

 

 

"You got to be kidding me," Jeup says to no one in particular as he gets out of his car, skidding his way down the sidewalk. 

 

Ungjae looks completely wasted, leaning against a guy who Jeup has now learned to recognize as Taeho from all the pictures Ungjae keeps showing him, and speaking some nonsense while making exaggerated motions with his other hand. There's another guy next to them - Jian? - looking deeply concerned, grasping a phone in his hand as if he was ready to call an ambulance at any second.

 

And next to him there's Sang, wearing an oversized denim jacket with styled hair and glitter on his eyelids, and suddenly Jeup feels very drunk himself. He barely avoids tripping over his own feet as he walks over to them, tearing his gaze away from Sang to look at his cousin instead.

 

"Seriously, what did he have?" He asks, and Taeho snorts. 

 

"You mean, what did he not have?" he responds, and Jeup frowns. He would start a lecture about how they should have looked after his cousin, but then again, Ungjae is now a grown ass man and should know better himself. 

 

Jeup will have him clean everything up by himself if he throws up on the bathroom floor again.

 

"I've seen him in a worse state," Sang says, his voice sounding like a whole angel choir in the middle of this situation, and yeah, maybe Jeup has actually gotten drunk on something without knowing. "He'll be fine."

 

"Yeah, whatever," Jeup mutters and swirls around, making a lazy motion towards his car with his hand. "Take him to the car."

 

He starts walking there himself without waiting for a response, and for a reason gets really startled when Sang suddenly appears next to him, his long legs keeping up with Jeup with ease. 

 

"I'm guessing you're not very drunk," Jeup says after getting over his shock, and Sang laughs. They pass by a streetlight, and it makes the glitter on his eyes shimmer even more.

 

"Yeah, just had one drink. But anyway, I was thinking..." he starts out, stopping for a moment as they reach Jeup's car, eyeing it nervously before finishing, "Is it okay if I come along? I mean, my place is like super far away, and you probably need help in handling Ungjae anyway, so if that's not too much of a burden, I..."

 

"You're rambling," Jeup says, and Sang shuts his mouth, looking embarrassed. "But sure, whatever. I won't mind."

 

"Really?" Sang asks, and Jeup hides a smile as he nods. "Wow, thanks."

 

"No problem," Jeup says, and then reaches out to open the door of his car as the others come up to them, with Ungjae singing some foreign song under his breath. Taeho shoves him inside the car and almost gets dragged there as well as Ungjae refuses to let go of him.

 

"Oh my god," Jian says, leaning inside to pry Ungjae's hands away from Taeho. Jeup and Sang stand to the side, watching the scene. 

 

"I'm honestly glad I don't have to take him home all by myself," Jeup says, and Sang looks at him, grinning while looking somewhat shy. 

 

It's cute. He's cute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's fifty minutes later that they are finally home, with Ungjae passed out in his bed, Sang washing his face in the bathroom and Jeup lying on the couch, exhausted. The actual ride had only been twenty minutes, but it had been kind of difficult getting Ungjae from the car to their apartment, as for some reason he was insisting to go into a total opposite direction. 

 

It was really a blessing that Sang came with them, because honestly, if Jeup had been left dealing with his cousin alone, he would've just given up and let him wander into the night. 

 

"Hey, what's time?" Sang asks, making his way out of the bathroom. Jeup pulls his phone out of his pocket.

 

"Five past three," he says, trying to shove his phone back to his pocket afterwards. It doesn't really work out, the device sliding in between his thigh and the cushions instead, but he's too tired to care and get it from there.

 

"Huh," is all Sang responds with. Jeup tilts his head a little to see him stand in the middle of the living room, his arms crossed lazily as he stares down at Jeup.

 

"Where am I gonna sleep?" he asks, and Jeup ponders for a while before saying,

 

"My bed."

 

"Your bed," Sang repeats, his voice rising in disbelief, as if that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "What about you?"

 

"I like the couch," Jeup says, sitting up lazily. "You're going to need to borrow Ungjae's clothes, though. Mine are probably too small for you."

 

"Fine," Sang says, but he doesn't really look like he's fine. With anything. Jeup raises an eyebrow.

 

"What is it?"

 

"Are you sure I can sleep in your bed? I mean, I can take the couch, too," Sang says, and then actually plops down onto the couch next to Jeup, so close that their knees brush together, and Jeup is just too exhausted to deal with any of this right now.

 

"Yeah, I'm sure. I told you, I like the couch," he says, his eyes glued on the spot where Sang's knee met his. 

 

It's three a.m., and he's tired. That's the only reason he's feeling like this. Isn't it? 

 

"That's what everyone says," Sang huffs, leaning a tad bit closer to him, "You know, you don't need to go with that _you're the guest so you can have my bed_ mentality. I'm okay sleeping on the couch."

 

"That's not," Jeup starts, but stops, since he really doesn't even know what he wanted to say. He didn't really even listen to what Sang was saying, anyway. They're just so close to each other. So close.

 

Jeup leans even closer, and meets Sang's eyes for a brief, fleeting moment, before kissing him. 

 

Sang makes a small, muffled voice against his lips, but doesn't pull away. Finding courage from that, Jeup closes his eyes and presses closer. 

 

Sang's lips are soft. He tastes slightly like alcohol, but there's a sweet scent to his skin, on the spot where the tip of Jeup's nose brushes against his cheek. 

 

It's not really different from kissing a girl. If anything, it's better. Jeup can feel Sang reaching out for his hand, their palms brushing together, and intertwines their fingers. Sang smiles against his lips. 

 

Jeup pulls away himself, his cheeks flushed and his hand trembling as he holds onto Sang tighter. Their eyes meet, and for a moment Jeup feels embarrassed of the entire situation, but then Sang smiles at him and it disappears. 

 

"What does this mean?" Sang asks, pressing their foreheads together. Strands of hair are tickling Jeup's forehead and nose. 

 

"It means," he starts, joining their free hands together as well, "that I like you."

 

"You're sure?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Good," Sang says, leaning closer so their lips are brushing together, "Because I like you, too."

 

They kiss again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
